Album Review — Dokken

Dokken — The Lost Songs: 1978–1981

You never know what you are going to get when a release comes out of “lost songs”. More often than not, they are strictly for die hard fans of the band. But if you take the time to sort through these often under produced tracks, you can learn a lot about a band and their influences. That is definitely the case with Dokken’s “The Lost Songs: 1978–1981”.

I don’t have the liner notes on this release, so I’m just going to go with what I hear. To me, it sounds like a few of these tracks have been re-recorded as they sound significantly better than the rest. And there are even two live tracks at the end of the record which actually sound decent given their age.

“Step Into The Light”, “No Answer” and “Rainbows” are the most Dokken sounding tracks and also the ones that sound the freshest. Don Dokken’s voice is noticeably lower and the production is substantially better which leads me to believe these were re-recorded or at least enhanced from the originals.

“Step Into The Light” kicks off the record and sounds fairly modern. It might have been written during this timeframe, but it definitely has that late 80s Dokken sound to it.

“Rainbows” is a little more laid back but still fits well with the Dokken catalogue. It’s probably my favorite track on the record.

“No Answer” is much heavier and sounds to me like some of the early 90s releases.

The rest of the record is interesting if only for the different sounds the band experimented with. “Day After Day” sounds like a late 70s Journey track complete with classical guitar. Don is no Steve Perry but it’s interesting to hear.

“We’re Going Wrong” has Don sounding like Vince Neal a bit and “Hit and Run” not only has a Def Leppard sounding title, it actually sounds like that well known track down to the guitar riffs and gang vocal.

“Back In The Streets” is a song I’ve heard before that was on an EP of demos that came through my hands.

The two live tracks are interesting to hear if not the best songs. And “Felony” is the one track that should have stayed lost. It’s not good.

This era of the band was pretty raw and still figuring out who they were going to be. For fans of the band, it’s an interesting look into how far the band came from their early days. There are some decent tracks but I would classify this one as more band history than something that’s going to get multiple listens on your favorite music player.

75 out of 100

Track Listing

1. Step Into the Light *
2. We’re Going Wrong
3. Day After Day
4. Rainbows *
5. Felony
6. No Answer *
7. Back In The Streets
8. Hit And Run
9. Broken Heart
10. Liar
11. Prisoner

*Best Songs